Reallignment (Down to 8 Teams) [1/2]

[Kendrick 4,714]

So if you haven't heard yet about the Victory Hockey League going down to eight teams, than you either just woke up and (I thank you for reading this first) or you are wasted. In the case of @frescoelmo it could be both and that's perfectly fine as well. The Blue Team recently announced that they were interested to know some of the ideas people had for realignment now that we have eight teams all in the World Conference. Of course with Calgary, Toronto, Quebec, Seattle, New York, Davos, Riga and Helsinki still kicking around it does present an interesting thought that it is lop-sided in geography. In this article you will hear my plan for re-allignment and what each team does in the situation explained.

 

First and foremost, the first idea would be to move all European franchises to North America and it's one that I heavily favour over the alternative. Hockey is a growing sport but given the membership group here and the future recruitment, appealing to the main fanbase is what's best. No disrespect to the European members (I am one of those being from Germany) but North America is the hockey continent considering the leagues situated there and the great conditions with flights (*cough*KHL*cough*). So the bottom paragraph gives you a bit of insight on what we should be doing with those three European franchises (Helsinki, Riga and Davos).

 

Helsinki --> Halifax

 

This is the one that makes the most sense to me. Moving Helsinki to Halifax would be wise and if the need for rebranding is there, they can still do it but also keep the Titans if they want. Halifax is a good city and I think tapping into this market would be wise going forward. Not only that but Halifax is a growing area of the country and I feel like the need for more sports teams out there is wise. From a recruitment standpoint it makes tons of sense considering we currently do feature several members with ties to Halifax in some way or have even visited the city. From what I've been told, it's a pretty nice place to be.

 

 

HC Davos --> Kelowna

 

This one makes more sense once I've explained it. Kelowna is a huge hockey market and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. I have been to many Kelowna Rockets games over the past 12 years and so has @TheLastOlympian07 and you will always hear that the place is pumping. It is a factory for hockey players (Shea Weber, Alexander Edler, Damon Severson and more). The mountains are right there in Kelowna so the log could just get a quick colour re-touch (I'm thinking green since the area has tons of trees and we are dropping the Express) but they could also do a full rebrand as well. From what I understand Davos is a small place with 11,000 people in it. I mean if all 11,000 went to the stadium they wouldn't be in terrible shape but chances are your aunt Martha isn't a fan of hockey. Plus I can really sell this market to recruitment boards and WHL forums and they will bite on it 100%.

 

Riga --> Chicago

 

I wanted a VHLM franchise years ago but the blue team gave it to Robbie instead because they like to see the world burn. I was going to place them in Chicago and had a full out cool colour scheme and logo ready to go. Time to more Riga there now though and it just makes sense. Several members on the board have ties to Chicago and have been there (myself included) and it is an untapped market in the hockey simulation world at the moment. Not to mention we know it is a hockey city because we've seen it with the Madhouse on Madison with the Blackhawks. This one is obvious and saying less might be more in this case. Plus recruitment would be easy as it would draw in a lot of the mid-west audience that support hockey (millions on twitter alone).

 

Now the next section only lists one team and that is because it would fall into the NA team re-locating to the European side of things if we were to do it the other way. I don't suggest this way but if it happens i think we should probably do it this way.

 

 

Quebec --> Prague

 

If you've watched international hockey you'll know that Prague is a hockey hotbed and a place this league has yet to look at. Prague is the capital city of Czech Republic and would be a great fit. The reason Quebec gets moved is because Cologne got axed and I feel it's a big dishonour to not move the franchise that came in with Cologne given their success is not that much greater. Calgary is a staple in the VHL, Toronto is as well. New York is one of the most successful franchises and Seattle has been here since the first season. Quebec naturally falls into the re-location process and we move them somewhere credible in Europe. I never listed a Russian city because the KHL is a tire fire and let's be honest, Russia is kind of a mess right now with their "puff our chests" personality. Before anyone screams bloody murder, I am ¼ Russian but am not proud of it right now.

 

There you have it, my "old boys club" view on reallignment/relocation if it were to happen down the road. I've been here since season one so this whole eight team league thing is nothing new to me but it is a shock to me considering my player is now up for grabs. I would be really stoked to see this happen and if the teams were to move to North American I would be front and center on the recruitment team helping trying to boost this leagues overall viewership. It's no secret a facelift is in order but time and time again from what I've seen, our league likes to think of things to band-aid and not help the situation outright right away.

 

*For Keller (1000 Words, Claiming for this week and next week)

 

 

 

 

[frescoelmo 1,217]

basically.

[diamond_ace 3,106]

Prague!

[eaglesfan036 4,583]

we need a philly team imo

[Kendrick 4,714]

11 minutes ago, Bring Back Chat said:

we need a philly team imo

That was the odd team out on my list. The reason is that New York is so close.

[Kesler 1,514]

Ever been to a Blazers game @Kendrick or @TheLastOlympian07?

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

Just now, Kesler said:

Ever been to a Blazers game @Kendrick or @TheLastOlympian07?

I have a few times, needless to say people weren't happy with my Kelowna jersey in Kamloops. But i wore that shit with pride. Blazers suck  

[Kesler 1,514]

1 minute ago, TheLastOlympian07 said:

I have a few times, needless to say people weren't happy with my Kelowna jersey in Kamloops. But i wore that shit with pride. Blazers suck  

Lmao I'm going to be attending school in Kamloops and not living in Vancouver anymore I miss going to games so I'm gonna become a fan. Hopefully there not that bad aha.

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

Just now, Kesler said:

Lmao I'm going to be attending school in Kamloops and not living in Vancouver anymore I miss going to games so I'm gonna become a fan. Hopefully there not that bad aha.

well as a Rocket fan I need to say they suck. rivalries man. However, they have a rich history and were back to back Mem Cup champs so you know they are good. however, this season, they haven't been that great. pretty sure they started the season on a 10 game losing streak but it is what it is in the WHL. teams go through times of winning and losing. they are in a rebuilding stage as mot of their talent is in the AHL now. i'd still go because it is always fun to watch a hockey game live. plus tickets aren't that cheap just like 20 bucks

[Kendrick 4,714]

6 minutes ago, Kesler said:

Ever been to a Blazers game @Kendrick or @TheLastOlympian07?

Yes but only when they came down to Vancouver/Langley

[Kendrick 4,714]

2 minutes ago, Kesler said:

Lmao I'm going to be attending school in Kamloops and not living in Vancouver anymore I miss going to games so I'm gonna become a fan. Hopefully there not that bad aha.

UBCO? I was weighing that school when I came back from the states. But they didn't offer the program I wanted at the time

[Kesler 1,514]

1 minute ago, Kendrick said:

UBCO? I was weighing that school when I came back from the states. But they didn't offer the program I wanted at the time

Nah TRU, isnt UBCO in the okanagan? lol

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

Just now, Kesler said:

Nah TRU, isnt UBCO in the okanagan? lol

kamloops is in the okanagan valley lol. UBCO though is in Kelowna

[Kesler 1,514]

1 minute ago, TheLastOlympian07 said:

kamloops is in the okanagan valley lol. UBCO though is in Kelowna

Ahh ya okay. I thought it was something like that but I wasn't sure. Funny I was born in Kelowna and have never been back. Only times I've ever been to Kamloops and through the coq was when highway 97 was closed due to wildfires so I'm not very well  travelled in my own province aha.

[TurnDaddy 323]

I’m down for it if they also get a name change to the Halifax Highlanders.

[Tyler 881]

in honour of jim dunsworth we should make them the halifax shithawks

[TurnDaddy 323]

16 minutes ago, Tyler said:

in honour of jim dunsworth we should make them the halifax shithawks

This is also a good suggestion. 

 

This gets my vote now.

[Kendrick 4,714]

30 minutes ago, Kesler said:

Nah TRU, isnt UBCO in the okanagan? lol

UBCO is Kelownia if I recall correctly.

 

27 minutes ago, Kesler said:

Ahh ya okay. I thought it was something like that but I wasn't sure. Funny I was born in Kelowna and have never been back. Only times I've ever been to Kamloops and through the coq was when highway 97 was closed due to wildfires so I'm not very well  travelled in my own province aha.

Well if it makes you feel any better, I never went around New Jersey when I lived there.

 

 

[Quik 4,113]

Do people really care about which city their team is in? It's not like you're actually living in the city your player plays for, seems like a weird thing to get hung up on. If other people feel like that, then I guess more power to them and go ahead with re-locating. Personally, if I'm basing my decision on something about the actual team, it'd be the logo, so re-branding would be more important IMO.

[Kendrick 4,714]

2 hours ago, Quik said:

Do people really care about which city their team is in? It's not like you're actually living in the city your player plays for, seems like a weird thing to get hung up on. If other people feel like that, then I guess more power to them and go ahead with re-locating. Personally, if I'm basing my decision on something about the actual team, it'd be the logo, so re-branding would be more important IMO.

The cities are actually more of a recruiting thing because if outside people see a relevant city in a sim league they get interested. One of the first questions I'm asked is "Is there a a team in _____?"

[Quik 4,113]

16 minutes ago, Kendrick said:

The cities are actually more of a recruiting thing because if outside people see a relevant city in a sim league they get interested. One of the first questions I'm asked is "Is there a a team in _____?"

Fair enough. I’ve never actually cared about which city the team was in, the more obscure ones were actually kind of a draw if anything lol

 

but I guess if it brings in people then why not

[Beketov 8,639]

I’m good with a Halifax franchise. Considering 3/4 of the blue team is from the area is seems like a perfect choice haha

[RadulovsFirstBeer 24]

Dallas team? Lol

[Kendrick 4,714]

54 minutes ago, RadulovsFirstBeer said:

Dallas team? Lol

It's actually not a bad idea, only issue is that the SHL has one in Texas and that might be a conflict of interest.

[Molholt 2,183]

28 minutes ago, Kendrick said:

It's actually not a bad idea, only issue is that the SHL has one in Texas and that might be a conflict of interest.

 

Don't they also have a Kelowna team though?